Giving Up
by emmaxx
Summary: Everyone had given up. Not him. Chapter 5 added.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **The characters of Bones do not belong to me.

Oh this is my first fanfic so reviews/feedback would be great, being nice is always lovely and giving your opinion is fantastic. I don't mind if you don't like the story, tell me because I know there is someone out there who can write waayyy better than me.

Enjoy.

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He didn't know what to do, how could someone do this to him? Not only him, how could someone do this to them?  
Crossing, or more like scribbling out a sentence on the paper infront of him. Nothing he did could take his mind off of her.

Now he's moving, to her love ... her livelihood. As if in record time he arrives at the destination, fighting the urge to yell out the nickname that he loves just as much as she hates it. Well, now it's a case of loved and hated.

Now he's in her office, standing in the middle of the room. He sits awkardly on the sofa and stares at what's on the table infront of it. As if the folder is on fire and he's afraid of being burnt, he carefully opens the file. Their last case of that week. His last case of that week. Her last case. Supposedly forever.

He lets out a cry of anger and flings the file off the table. Clutching his head in his hands he wonders why the hell she wasn't sitting there with you...arguing, laughing or just simply staring at him through her big blue eyes he loved so much.

Images flood into his mind. Their first meeting. Their first argument. Their first case. Their first dinner together. Their first undercover mission. Their first kiss.

Now nothing can stop the tears from streaming down his face, for the first time since she disappeared two months ago. Everyone had given up. Not him. But now, after over two months of finding nothing to help locate her, he was giving up too.  
'Forgive me.'

A voice interrupts his thinking, not one voice. Two voices. Screaming out his name. He can't bring himself to speak up. But they find him anyway. They knew where he'd be.  
However they didn't expect to find him in this state. They pause, unable to continue.

"What?" he harshly says.  
"We found her." Angela replies. He nods not wanting Angela to confirm thats she's dead, closing his eyes he waits for the words to come out of one of his friends' mouths.  
The words don't come but new, unexpected ones do.

"She's alive Booth. She's alive."


	2. Six minutes

"She's alive Booth. She's alive."

Booth's eye's grew wide, his mind processed this new information. His mouth gaped open and shut, not able to formulate any words.  
Finally his brain seemed to function after the shock of hearing the words that he never thought he'd here.  
"Alive"  
"That's right man, Brennan's alive." Hodgins supplied. Booth nodded, the information just slowly making it's way past his ears to his brain.  
"Do you... did they catch him? Do you know"  
"I don't care about him at the moment, I don't care about him at all. My best friend is alive. She's alive. And we need to get to her so pull yourself together." Angela ordered. The three friends ran to Booth's SUV and sped out into the night, to their friend.

Six minutes. Six minutes until they would be at the hospital. Six minutes until they would see her again.

For Hodgins the news of hearing, not only his colleague but a dear friend had been found after days and weeks of nothing was beyond words. He was thankful that his girlfriend would cry no more at night for her lost best friend, that his girlfriend would be able to smile and laugh again.

For Angela the news of her best friend's survival had been the best news she had had all year. Many days and nights had she cried and she had tried to hide it from everyone, putting on a professional facade - fooling no one.

For Booth the very fresh piece of news was a gift. When he heard that she was missing he was outraged. Angry that she'd gone off without him, thinking that after all of her self defense training she'd be able to protect herself -this time she couldn't. At first he tried to blame everyone around him, pushing everyone who cared away.  
But the only person he could always blame was himself, it became his sole mission to bring back his love. Breaking down countless times when Parker asked where 'Tempe' was and for his own good he told his son that she was working. Then it was she's visiting friend's out of state. Or she's at the dentist. Finally he couldn't face lying anymore and eventually told his son the truth. Parker was heartbroken, he cried and hugged onto the stuffed toy that 'Tempe' had gotten him. Seeing his son so heartbroken gave him a new drive and focus for finding his girlfriend alive.  
And now, when just moment ago he was about to give up, he knew where she was and with this news he couln't stop smiling. 


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry this took so long. :)

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Walking down the corridor to her room seemed endless. The words that the doctor had told them when they'd arrived seemed to be playing on repeat in each of their minds.

_"Signs of rape."_

_"Severely malnurished."_

_"Evidence of torture."_

_"May not be the same person you knew."_

'At least she isn't dead. At least she isn't dead.' Booth muttered over and over in his head, as if he was trying to fight the images the doctor had given them of a weak, scared and different woman to the one that they knew. 'So what if she isn't the same person, she will always be Bones. She will always be my Bones.' Booth exclaimed somewhat randomly to his friends, they gave him quizzical looks but said nothing.

"What room is she in?" "Room 203, but only one person at a time."

199. 200.  
201.  
202.  
203.

203. This was it. "Who..who wants to go first?" Booth asked.  
"Booth there's no question about that. You go. I'm just happy to know she's behind that door." Angela smiled. Hodgins nodded.  
"We'll be out here man," Booth nodded and hesitantly stepped foward to the door.  
As he entered the room he could see the silhouette of a woman curled up on the bed. A pair of piercing blue eyes meet his. "Booth?" Came the voice that he'd never thought he'd hear again.  
Booth moved foward so he was standing next to the bed, hovering over it's occupant. Even in the dim light he could see the bruises that were around her wrists, well to him they didn't really look like wrists..they were so thin. She was so thin. 'What should I say? What am I supposed to say? Everything will get better? Missed you?' Booth's brain just momentarily shut down. "Booth?" She said again, this time stronger but not as strong as her normal tone was. This one seemed more vulnerable.  
Then Booth said the only thing he could think of.

"I love you Bones." And he carefully held her as her tears began to fall fast and heavy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

So yeah, I haven't updated this in what seems like forever and I'm not sure who actually still wants this finished because I've made you wait soo long -not for anything good anyway, this chapter I hurried to write in the course of about an hour. The fifth chapter should be up before the weekend. Urm, so enjoy I guess. Oh and this is about a couple hundred words longer than the others! (They're getting longer people.)

Emma.

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They seemed to sit like that for ages. Holding each other, for the reassurance that it was actually real that either of them wouldn't wake up and they'd be torn apart from each other again.  
Booth knew from the moment that he entered the hospital room that she wasn't going to be the same person as she was before. But he didn't expect this. Well to think about it, he didn't really know what to expect. On one hand he knew that she was always going to be a strong woman, events in her past - a lot that he knew about yet some that still haunted her in her dreams - that had shaped her into being a fearless, couragess and an extremely determined woman.  
"God, Bones. I'm so sorry"  
"Why would you need to be sorry? It wasn't you that di-" "Ok. Ok. I'm not sorry. Sorry." Booth chuckled softly, electing a slight smile from the person who sat opposite him.  
Booth cast his mind back to all those weeks ago when this all started.

_Flashback_

_It was a normal case. Well not normal, nothing about murder is normal but in their line of work, this case didn't strike out as something abnormal. "BOOOONNNESSS. BOOOONNESS." yelled Special Agent Seeley Booth as he strolled into the Jeffersonian Institute. He received a few glances, mainly from other labworkers and the security guys. Booth gave a small wave to Angela but before he could say hello, his partner greeted him in the semi-usual tone.  
"You don't have to yell Booth, I can hear perfectly well and I'm sure that other staff here are beginning to feel the annoyance of your yelling every time you stroll in here and demand"  
"We have a case"  
"I know we have a case"  
"How do you know we have a case? I disticntly remember you once saying, actually more than once..REPEATEDLY that you don't believe in psychics"  
"There is nothing to believe in! There is no science to back up the theory extra sensory abilities. And I knew we had a case because there'd be no other reason to stroll in here and yell out my name- not even my name but this absurd nickname that you've labelled me with." "Who didn't get any last night?" Angela snickered. "Angela!" "Well what sweetie, as much as this debate interests me, you and Booth have a case. So why don't you get going?" Inaudibly, Brennan muttered a few words as she threw on her coat and headed towards Booth.  
"Don't say anything." she said, pointing her finger at him.  
"I wasn't going to"  
"You just did"  
"That's unfair, you started"  
"No I didn't." The squabbling could be heard as the two left the Jeffersonian, Angela smirked and turned round to become face-to-face (literally) with her boyfriend, a Dr Jack Hodgins. "We have a case"  
"Yup, they just left"  
"So we have some time on our hands?" Hodgins said playfully as he pulled Angela into a kiss, which she deeply responded.  
"Oh come on guys! Seriously, you need to stop doing that!" their boss, Camille Saroyan moaned. Reluctantly the two pulled away and headed off into seperate directions._

_About an hour later, the dismembered body was back in the lab and laid out on the steel grey table, ready to be identifie. Already determined at the scene by Brennan, the body was of a child, a little girl, not older than the age of seven and had been dead for about five weeks.  
"How could someone do this to someone so innocent?" Angela sighed as she interrupted the scientific babble that had begun between Brennan, Hodgins, Zach and Cam. "I know it's horrible but for her sake, let's find the person or persons responsible for this. Dr Brennan, are you ready to let Angela have the skull?" Cam asked.  
"Yes, her skull remained intact during the attack and I can safely determin that there were no injuries sustained to her head." Brennan replied and carefully handed the detached skull to Angela.  
"Alright guys, I guess I'll see you later." Hodgins watched as Angela's figure descended down the stairs and then out of sight.  
"Hodgins, can you test this fibres? I found them on what's left of these clothes." "Oh and also, I think I scrapped some skin cells"  
"At least she got a piece of her attacker"  
Silently, they all agreed that they would find the person responsible for this, no matter how long it took, whatever they had to do, they would bring this little girl justice._

_End of flashback_

As the rain trickled against the windows outside, Booth watched the steady rise and fall of Brennan's chest as she slept, her hand safely encased in his large one.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

**I'm so sorry that I didn't update this when I said I would, thanks to everyone who continues to read and review. But yeah, this chapter is definately longer than the rest!**

**Enjoy.**

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_Silently, they all agreed that they would find the person responsible for this, no matter how long it took, whatever they had to do, they would bring this little girl justice._

_"Bren, sweetie, you really need to get some sleep." Angela softly said as she watched her best friend work away at the remains of the deceased little girl.  
"I can't Angela, not with this one. Do you have her name yet"  
"Not yet but-" Angela began but stopped when she heard the faint footsteps of shoes coming, turning around she saw the look of despair on her friend's face. He swiped his card through security and walked over to the two woamn solemly.  
"Booth, I've tried to make her go. Maybe you could get some Wong Fu's?" "I'm afraid we can't do that yet." pausing brielfy to let out a sigh. Booth continued. "Bones, we have another body"  
"What?" the usually literate anthropologist asked.  
"About 45 minutes away, by the woods. I've told them to secure the scene"  
"Is it another girl?" Angela whispered, not wanting to know the answer and feeling like she already knew what it would be.  
"I don't know. Come on Bones, we should get going"  
"Angela, call me the moment you get a name." Brennan said walking off the platform with Booth, he momentarily put rubbed her arm with his hand and gave her a small smile.  
"You'll figure it out Bones, you always do."_

"How is she?" Angela asked the moment Booth walked in the door. It was now just after four in the morning and the "Squints" were gathered in a small hopsital waiting room nursing cups of coffee. "She's sleeping at the moment." Booth replied throwing himself down on a chair and dropping his head in his hands.  
"That's good then?" Zach questioned, he didn't know what to say.  
"She's not the same. She's changed slightly"  
"Doctor Brennan's a strong woman Booth, she'll get through this because she's not alone anymore. We're all here." "You haven't seen her Hodgins, you haven't held her while she was crying..sobbing. And it's my fault. I didn't protect her. I promised to protect her." Booth stifled.  
"Seeley, this is not your fault. Brennan wouldn't blame you, she'll probably hit you when she hears what you're saying-" Camille Saroyan said. The others nodded.  
"We're all in this together. Just like Jack said." Angela smiled softly.  
"If it's ok with you we're going to go see her and then go home. But we'll be back tomorrow, do you want us to get anything"  
"Clothes, for both of us. We're both going to be here for awhile. And something for her to read, get some science magazine"  
"Alright Seeley, we'll see you tomorrow." Booth lifted his head as the four friends walked out of the door. Standing up he paced the room.  
"Get a grip of yourself Seeley." he muttered over and over again.

_The floodlights illuminated the dark area. Fallen leaves crunched as footsteps made their way over them. Tree branches swayed in the winds soft breeze. The distinct "CLICK" of the camera could be heard. And the reason for all the attention in this lone part of the wood, at an unthinkable time, was the remains of a child found buried under a pile of rocks. Booth silently stood on the side as he watched his partner examine the bones.  
"It's another girl. I'd say she's been out here about five weeks"  
"Same as the other little girl." Zach stated.  
"Can you tell how old she is"  
"From the age of these bones and the teeth, I'd place her age between six and eight." Brennan noted as she began to investigate the rest of the area, looking around for a couple minutes until she stopped. Dropping to her knees, Brennan began to sweep away some leaves that had fallen from the trees.  
"Booth." she said. "Booth!" "What Bones?" Booth turned around to see his partner turn around, what made his stomach turn was to see she was holding the small skull of another child,  
"I think we need to search this area"  
Booth nodded and signaled for the team of agents to fan out and explore the area.  
"Do you think this could be a burial site"  
"A burial site for children, I think it's possible. We need to get that body and this skull back to the Jeffersonian"  
"Just the skull? Couldn't you find the rest"  
Brennan shook her head as her phone vibrated at her hip. Pulling off her gloves she pressed a button and bought the phone to the side of her face.  
"Brennan"  
"Bren it's me." Brennan could identify the voice of Angela on the other side of the phone.  
"Hey Ange, we're coming back from the scene now. I found another skull hidden under leaves not far from the first body. We're searching the area and Zach's going to stay here to supervise that. Do you have a name yet"  
"Yes I do, her name's Ariella Devereux. I matched her face to the face on the missing person's list"  
"Have you notified her parents"  
"No, this is the thing that's weird. I can't find them. Anywhere"  
"I'll get Booth on it. We'll be back soon." the call ended.  
"What did Angela say?" Booth enquired as the two walked back to the SUV.  
"She has a name for the first little girl, Ariella Devereux"  
"Parents been tracked down"  
"No. She can't find them anywhere. So you do your thing and find the parents." "Will do"  
Forty minutes later, Brennan had the remains of the victim found first at the scene on the table. Two more child's remains had been found at the scene and they were spread out on the two table next to the one that Brennan was currently at.  
"It apprears the femur is broken. Unusual indentations on the clavicle, it seems whatever made them struck the victim hard. Angela, when you've finished with the faces can you work out scenarios on the Angelator on how the bone was damaged"  
"Yeah but it might be awhile. Four skulls Bren. And this one," Angela said pointing to the lone skull placed on a plastic tray. "The body wasn't even found. But I've already drawn the face and am running it through the systems now, hopefully we can at least give her a name"  
Booth stepped up onto the platform.  
"I couldn't find the parents"  
"What"  
"I found some information though. The Devereux family: mom ChloИ, father Pierre and their seven year old daughter Ariella, came to the US three months ago from Southern France. The mother works as a French teacher at Georgetown University. I called the uni and they said ChloИ hasn't been in for the past two days. I have an address and we're going to pay a visit to them." "Do you think you can go Booth? Unless you can wait"  
"These people should know that their daughter is dead"  
"So should the mother's of these three." she replied pointing to the other skeleton remains. Angela, who had left five minutes before came back running.  
"Computer found her name"  
"Which one"  
"The one Bren found that had just the skull. Her name is Emilie Rossi. She was also reported missing. She was from Italy. Booth, you should find out more about her family"  
"I will. We have two dead foreign nationals. Plus the fact they're children, if the press finds out, this will be all over the news"  
"We've never had a leak here Booth. It won't start now."_

"We've never had a leak here Booth. It won't start now"  
Oh how wrong that line had been. Booth thought.


End file.
